Tainted alcohol kills 6 in Poland

Six people in Poland have died after drinking alcohol that was probably tainted with methanol, and six others remain hospitalised, police said on Thursday.

Three men aged between 38 and 53 and a 47-year-old woman died in Stargard Szczecinski in northwest Poland after consuming alcohol probably containing methanol purchased at a local market, said police spokesman Przemyslaw Kimon, according to the PAP news agency.

Two more men died in Guiezno in the west of the country, police said, adding that a total of six people are hospitalised in the two locations.

In the neighbouring Czech Republic, a wave of about 30 deaths from lethal alcohol in September and October forced the country to temporarily ban domestic liquor sales and spirits exports. - Sapa-AFP